The Izmir issue
Göztepe and Güzelyalı, Izmir's seaward side on foot
A calm walk down İzmir's south shore, from the Göztepe ferry pier to the İnciraltı submarine. The hours, the fares and the fish-house bookings decide what order you do it in.
By Joris van der Veldeİzmir on foot and by ferry
The pavement on the seaward side runs 6.6 km without a break, from Konak out to Üçkuyular, with the Konak Tram running past the palm beds. Stand on the Göztepe stretch facing northwest and the sun sets straight down the gulf. Fishermen work the low stone edge all day.
The promenade and the ferry pier
Göztepe–Güzelyalı Seafront Promenade (Mustafa Kemal Sahil Bulvarı) is a wide walkway on reclaimed land along the south shore of the bay, with grass strips, benches turned to the water, and the Kadifekale hills behind you. It is free and open at all hours, and it is the main reason to come to this part of İzmir. Walking groups, joggers and cycling clubs use it day and night. Central Kordon is busier, and that is why people come down here.
Göztepe İskelesi (Mustafa Kemal Sahil Bulvarı, Güzelyalı) is a low pier that juts off the boulevard halfway along, where the white-and-blue İZDENİZ commuter boats come in. Karşıyaka's tower blocks sit across the open bay. The crossing to Karşıyaka takes 25 minutes, and the same service calls at Alsancak, Konak, Karantina and Üçkuyular. Fares are ₺, paid with an İzmirim Kart, and you walk on without booking. Sailings are limited and daytime-only, so read the board before you plan a return leg. Boarding is easiest outside the commuter peaks, 08:00 to 09:00 and 17:00 to 18:00.
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Asansör at the Karataş end
Asansör (Dario Moreno Street, Karataş) is 2 km northeast along the same coast road, a tram hop or a 25-minute walk on the seafront. The 1907 red-brick tower is bolted to a sheer cliff, and twin lifts run up to a clifftop terrace. You approach up a pedestrian street of restored 19th-century painted houses. Nesim Levi, a banker, built it to spare Karataş residents the climb, and it is free to ride because it remains legally a public service. The view over the bay at sunset is the best in the area. The lift cars are small, so a large party goes up in waves. The terrace café and restaurant is ₺₺ and takes group reservations.
Fuat Göztepe Parkı
Fuat Göztepe Parkı (Güzelyalı) is a small park five minutes inland from the water, with twin matching half-sphere fountains and dense shade trees. The granite relief at its centre is 3.4 m tall and 6 m wide and shows the Göztepe squad of 1971-72, the first Turkish club to reach a European semi-final. An Atatürk bust stands alongside it. The relief was fully restored after vandalism and looks sharp again. Entry costs nothing, and the monument plaza is where Göztepe supporters gather before matches.
Matchday at Gürsel Aksel Stadium
Gürsel Aksel Stadium (Üçkuyular end of Göztepe) is a modern bowl holding 20,040, a red-and-yellow seat mosaic under a translucent roof with the hills and the bay behind the stands. A home match is the most local evening on offer here, Süper Lig football in a full, loud ground within walking distance of the seafront bars. Tickets are sold by tribune at ₺₺, and season combines go on sale from June. Buy ahead of the day; the ground sells out for Süper Lig fixtures.
Concerts and free galleries on Mithatpaşa Caddesi
Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center (Mithatpaşa Caddesi, Güzelyalı) is the district's main cultural venue and the home stage of the İzmir State Symphony. The 2008 civic building is clad in pale brown and cream marble, with a tall glass curtain wall, a steel-and-glass roof over the foyer and structural columns left exposed inside. The main hall seats 1,150 and the studio hall 243. The International İzmir Festival runs in June, and a new season opens in October 2026. Tickets are ₺ to ₺₺, many exhibitions and commemorative events are free, and you can walk five galleries at no charge. Block bookings and school and tour groups are routine, so the building absorbs numbers without fuss.
West to İnciraltı
İnciraltı Kent Ormanı is 2 km on, where the promenade leaves the city and runs into woodland. Flat pine and eucalyptus forest follows the bay edge, with a cycle path through the middle and a shingle shoreline showing between the trunks. It opens 24 hours with no gate. Entry and the car park are free, dozens of concrete picnic tables stand under the trees, and İzmir families bring whole extended households here.
İnciraltı Deniz Müzesi (İnciraltı quay, opposite Özdilek) is 3 km west of Güzelyalı on the same shoreline. The decommissioned grey frigate TCG Ege is moored at the quay with the black submarine TCG Piri Reis alongside, and a TCG Kasırga attack boat and an AB 212 helicopter sit on the hardstanding. You can climb down inside the submarine. It closes Mondays, and the weekday slots are short, 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 17:00. Entry is ₺200 for foreign visitors and ₺60 for a local adult. Wednesdays cost ₺30. Under-18s and over-65s go free. Outside the public days the navy admits pre-arranged groups with a service escort; phone ahead.
Eating on the shore road
Orkinos Restaurant (Mustafa Kemal Sahil Yolu, Küçükyalı) is the benchmark fish house on the shore between Göztepe and Güzelyalı, ten minutes' walk from Hatay metro. White linen covers the ground floor of Venus Apartments, and a meze trolley of Aegean cold starters goes round tables that look straight out over the gulf. Regulars order the fish kavurma. A meal runs ₺2,750 to ₺3,500 per person, and you may bring your own rakı. The room is reservation-only and will not seat you without a booking.
EGELİM+ Güzelyalı Restaurant (Mithatpaşa 1144) was Egeli Restaurant until the rebrand, so book under the new name. The terrace tables sit out in the open on the seafront, with awnings and planters between the diners and the bay, and long meze plates and grilled meat and fish arrive on them. It opens daily from 11:00 until 02:00, at ₺2,250 to ₺3,000 per person. Ask for the front terrace rows, and book them ahead. Celebrations and larger tables are normal here, with roughly 65 covers.
Muzom Restoran (corner of Mithatpaşa and 95. Sokak, Göztepe) is one of a handful of proper meyhanes on this side. Small tables are crowded with cold meze dishes and rakı glasses, live fasıl musicians work the room, and the sea shows between the apartment blocks. Prices are ₺₺. Hours are shorter than the seafront places. Start early, and call to book, because the dining room is modest.
Macır Köfte (95. Sokak, Göztepe) is the cheapest meal in Göztepe at ₺, run by one family in a tiny room with the charcoal grill behind the counter. Hand-pressed Balkan-Turkish Macır köfte come with piyaz beans, grilled green peppers and flatbread on plain tables. It trades 09:00 to 21:30. The room takes four or five of you; order takeaway ahead if there are more.
Breakfast and the late table
Köşşe Kahve (a Güzelyalı side street, a block off the water) serves Turkish breakfast from 10:00 to 23:00, long after the rest of the city has moved on to lunch. Trays come crowded with small dishes of cheese, olives, jams, eggs and warm pastry, and the pavement tables fill first. The classic breakfast is ₺375 per person. The shared serpme spread costs ₺890 for two people and ₺1,335 for three. It takes no reservations and does no takeaway. Arrive early.
La Folie Güzelyalı (Mithatpaşa 1096/A) runs 11:00 to 01:00 every day, with brunch boards and international plates in the morning and draught and bottled beer from the long bar later. Bentwood chairs spill onto the pavement from a bright corner room, and there are 150 covers between the inside and the terrace. Prices are ₺₺. Walk-ins work when the seafront-facing places are full.
Where to sleep on the strip
The Yalı Konak Hotel İzmir (Mithatpaşa 562A) is the closest-in bed if you want to sleep on this shore, in Küçükyalı and Karataş between the Asansör and Göztepe. It has frontage on the coastal boulevard and on the old street behind, sea-facing rooms over the tram line, and the tram stops at the door. Rates are ₺₺ with none published. Ask for a quote by phone or WhatsApp, and ask the same way for a block of rooms.
Wyndham Grand İzmir Özdilek Thermal & Spa (İnciraltı shoreline) is the old Crowne Plaza İzmir rebranded, the same blue cylindrical 20-storey tower with curved glass balconies, so search the current name when you look for it. Balçova's thermal water is piped into the pools at its base, the Özdilek shopping centre stands alongside, and the hotel is 3 km west of Güzelyalı on the same seafront. Rooms are ₺6,979 to ₺15,314 per night depending on season. The tower holds 219 rooms and dedicated meeting floors.
Closed days and bookings
The museum ships close Mondays and open only in those two short weekday slots, and Muzom shuts earlier than the seafront restaurants. Book Orkinos before you walk down, and buy Süper Lig tickets ahead.
See the Izmir guide and the Izmir hotel search.
Gallery
Göztepe–Güzelyalı in pictures
Göztepe–Güzelyalı — your questions
How do I get from Göztepe to Karşıyaka by ferry?
İZDENİZ boats leave from Göztepe İskelesi on Mustafa Kemal Sahil Bulvarı and reach Karşıyaka in 25 minutes. You walk on without booking and pay a single fare with an İzmirim Kart. Sailings are limited and run in daylight only, so check the board before you count on a return leg. Board outside 08:00 to 09:00 and 17:00 to 18:00 if you can.
Is the Asansör free to ride?
Yes. It is still legally a public service, so the twin lifts up to the clifftop terrace cost nothing. It is 2 km northeast of Göztepe along the coast road, a tram hop or a 25-minute walk along the seafront. The lift cars are small, so a big group goes up in waves. The terrace café and restaurant is ₺₺ and takes group bookings.
Which restaurants here need a booking?
Orkinos is reservation-only and will not seat you without one. At EGELİM+ Güzelyalı, book ahead for the front terrace rows; it was Egeli Restaurant before the rebrand. Muzom takes bookings by phone, and the dining room is small. At Köşşe Kahve there are no reservations at all, so go early.
When is the İnciraltı naval museum open and what does it cost?
It closes Mondays and opens in two short weekday slots, 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 17:00. Entry is ₺200 for foreign visitors and ₺60 for a local adult, ₺30 on Wednesdays, and free for under-18s and over-65s. If you phone ahead, the navy will let a pre-arranged group in outside the public days with an escort.
Where can I stay on the Göztepe and Güzelyalı seafront?
The Yalı Konak Hotel İzmir at Mithatpaşa 562A is the closest in, between the Asansör and Göztepe with the tram at the door; it publishes no rack rate, so phone or WhatsApp for a quote. The Wyndham Grand İzmir Özdilek Thermal & Spa, the old Crowne Plaza, is 3 km west on the same shore and charges ₺6,979 to ₺15,314 a night depending on season.
